Apple iPhone 12
Current Status: Discontinued (originally launched at $799)
64GB variant · Original US unlocked launch price · Launched October 2020
Apple iPhone 12 marks a major generational shift with a flat-edge aerospace-grade aluminum design, a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, dual 12MP cameras (Wide and Ultrawide) with Night Mode on all lenses, 4GB RAM, IP68 water resistance, MagSafe wireless charging, 5G connectivity, and the powerful 5nm A14 Bionic chip.
LAUNCH
| Announced | October 13, 2020 |
| Released | October 23, 2020 |
| Discontinued | September 12, 2023 |
DISPLAY
| Screen Size | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 2532 x 1170 pixels (Super Retina XDR) |
| Pixel Density | ~460 ppi |
| Refresh Rate | 60Hz (standard — no ProMotion) |
| Display Type | Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, Dolby Vision, Haptic Touch |
| Brightness | 625 nits (typical), 1200 nits (peak HDR brightness), 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio |
| Features | True Tone, Wide color gamut (P3), Haptic Touch |
| Protection | Ceramic Shield front (claimed 4x better drop performance than previous) |
PERFORMANCE
| Chipset | Apple A14 Bionic (5nm) |
| CPU | Hexa-core (2x 3.1 GHz Firestorm high-performance + 4x 1.82 GHz Icestorm high-efficiency) |
| GPU | Apple-designed 4-core GPU (up to 50% faster than competitive smartphone chips, claimed) |
| Neural Engine | Yes (16-core Neural Engine — up to 11 trillion operations per second) |
| RAM | 4 GB (LPDDR4X) |
| Cooling | Passive cooling (internal thermal interface material) |
| Operating System | Launched with iOS 14.1; supports iOS 18.x. Future major-version support is highly likely. |
| Machine Learning / AI | A14 Bionic Neural Engine, Core ML 3, Siri; Apple Intelligence: Not supported |
| Graphics Support | Metal 3, ARKit 4 |
GAMING PERFORMANCE — COMMUNITY/THIRD-PARTY REPORTS
| PUBG Mobile / BGMI | Stable 60 FPS on Extreme frame rate settings; HDR+Extreme and Ultra HD supported; consistent performance when device temperature is maintained. 90 FPS not supported (60Hz display). |
| Free Fire | Stable 60 FPS on Ultra settings |
| Call of Duty: Mobile | 60 FPS on Very High graphics + Max FPS; 120 FPS not supported (60Hz display). |
| Genshin Impact | Medium graphics settings supported; 30–50 FPS average; High settings may trigger thermal throttling and screen dimming relatively quickly due to the slim passive design |
| Asphalt 9: Legends | Stable 60 FPS at High graphics settings |
| Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Flawless performance on max settings |
| Black Desert Mobile | Good performance; High settings supported with stable frame rates |
| Overall Gaming Performance | Excellent consistency for competitive games at 60 FPS. The OLED display offers great visual fidelity. The passive thermal management handles standard workloads well, but intensive 3D titles (Genshin) can cause thermal-induced screen dimming during continuous load. |
BENCHMARK — ANTUTU RESULTS (APPROXIMATE)
| AnTuTu v10 Total | ~1,020,000 – 1,180,000 (third-party test results; varies by iOS version and device condition) |
| AnTuTu CPU | ~290,000 – 320,000 |
| AnTuTu GPU | ~380,000 – 430,000 |
| AnTuTu Memory | ~190,000 – 210,000 |
| AnTuTu UX | ~200,000 – 220,000 |
REAR CAMERA
| Main Camera | 12 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1.4µm, OIS, Dual Pixel PDAF |
| Ultra Wide | 12 MP, f/2.4, 13mm (ultrawide), 120° field of view |
| Telephoto | No |
| Photo Digital Zoom | Up to 5x digital zoom (2x optical zoom out) |
| Stabilization | Optical Image Stabilization on Main Wide camera |
| Camera Features | Night Mode (automatic on all lenses), Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 3, Portrait Mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control, Portrait Lighting (6 effects), Brighter True Tone flash with Slow Sync, Panorama (up to 63MP) |
FRONT CAMERA
| Camera | 12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide) TrueDepth camera system |
| Aperture | f/2.2 |
| Focus | Fixed focus |
| Features | 4K video recording, Slo-mo video (Slofies @ 120fps), Portrait Mode, Smart HDR 3, Retina Flash, Animoji & Memoji |
VIDEO RECORDING
| Rear Video | 4K UHD @ 24/30/60fps, 1080p @ 30/60/120/240fps (Extended dynamic range up to 60fps, Cinematic video stabilization) |
| Video Digital Zoom | Up to 3x digital zoom |
| ProRes | Not Supported |
| ProRes RAW | Not Supported |
| Slow Motion | 1080p @ 120fps / 240fps |
| Front Video | 4K UHD @ 24/30/60fps, 1080p @ 30/60/120fps (gyro-EIS) |
| Audio | Stereo audio recording, Audio Zoom |
BATTERY
| Battery Type | Li-Ion, built-in (non-removable) |
| Battery Capacity | ~2815 mAh (commonly reported; not officially specified by Apple) |
| Video Playback | Up to 17 hours (Apple official specification) |
CHARGING
| Wired Charging | Fast charging (up to 50% in 30 minutes with 20W adapter or higher) |
| Fast Charging | Yes (USB Power Delivery 2.0) |
| MagSafe | Yes (MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W) |
| Qi Wireless Charging | Yes (Qi standard, up to 7.5W) |
| Port | Lightning (USB 2.0 speeds) |
CONNECTIVITY
| 5G | Yes (sub-6 GHz and mmWave variants regional availability varies) |
| 4G | Yes, Gigabit-class LTE (4x4 MIMO and LAA) |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 with LE |
| NFC | Yes (Apple Pay & reader mode with background tag reading) |
| UWB | Yes (Ultra Wideband U1 chip for spatial awareness) |
| FM Radio | No |
USB & DISPLAY OUTPUT
| Connector | Lightning |
| USB Speed | USB 2.0 (up to 480 Mbps) |
| Display Output | Up to 1080p via Lightning Digital AV Adapter (third-party accessory required) |
| External Display | Supported via compatible Lightning adapters |
SIM & NETWORK
| SIM | Nano-SIM + eSIM (regional availability varies) |
| eSIM | Yes (eSIM supported on compatible regional models) |
| China Mainland Variant | Model A2404 supports Dual Nano-SIM (no eSIM) |
| Network | GSM/CDMA, 3G HSPA+, 4G LTE Advanced, Gigabit-class LTE, 5G |
NAVIGATION & LOCATION
| GPS | Yes, Built-in GPS/GNSS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| Compass | Yes, digital compass |
SENSORS
| Face ID | Yes (TrueDepth camera system) |
| LiDAR | No |
| Motion | Three-axis Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Barometer |
| Other Sensors | Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Digital Compass |
AUDIO & MULTIMEDIA
| Speakers | Spatial audio playback, Stereo speakers |
| Spatial Audio | Yes (spatial audio rendering supported) |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes (Dolby Atmos playback supported) |
| 3.5mm Headphone Jack | No |
| Audio Formats | AAC-LC, HE-AAC, MP3, Linear PCM, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3), Dolby Atmos |
SOFTWARE FEATURES
| Browser | Safari |
| Maps | Apple Maps |
| Document Viewer | Yes |
| Photo Viewer | Yes, Live Photos, True Tone, Wide color capture |
| Predictive Text Input | Yes, QuickType |
| Siri Voice Assistant | Yes, always-on "Hey Siri" |
| Apple Pay | Yes (via Face ID) |
| Animoji & Memoji | Yes (with TrueDepth camera) |
BUILD & PROTECTION
| Frame | Aerospace-grade aluminum frame design |
| Front Protection | Ceramic Shield front |
| Back Protection | Toughened glass back |
| Water Resistance | IP68 (maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes under IEC standard 60529) |
| Dimensions | 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm |
| Weight | 164 grams |
COLORS
| Available Colors | Black, White, (PRODUCT)RED, Green, Blue, Purple (launched later) |
STORAGE & PRICE
| Card Slot | No (fixed internal NVMe storage only) |
| 64GB | Discontinued (originally $799) |
| 128GB | Discontinued (originally $849) |
| 256GB | Discontinued (originally $949) |
MISC
| Model Number | A2172 / A2402 / A2403 / A2404 |
Overall: The iPhone 12 remains a highly capable and balanced modern iPhone choice on the pre-owned market. It introduced the modern flat-edge design, 5G connectivity, and a standard OLED display that defines the current lineup. Powered by the efficient 5nm A14 Bionic chip, it maintains high performance on iOS 18.x. The Ceramic Shield front provides enhanced durability. The main compromises are the 60Hz refresh rate and the lack of a dedicated telephoto lens. On used devices, verifying battery health and True Tone functionality is essential.
IPHONE 12 IN 2026: IS IT STILL WORTH BUYING?
| Performance | A14 Bionic delivers flagship-level responsiveness for daily applications and smooth 60 FPS performance in mainstream mobile games. It remains competitive. |
| Display & Build | Super Retina XDR OLED provides accurate colors and high contrast. The modern aluminum/Ceramic Shield design is lightweight and premium. |
| Camera | Dual 12MP array (Wide/Ultrawide) with Night Mode yields solid modern results and competent 4K 60fps video capture with gyro-EIS. Smart HDR 3 is competent. |
| Battery | ~2815 mAh capacity is decent, but used devices often have degraded health; battery check or replacement is crucial for all-day endurance. |
| 5G | Yes, full 5G connectivity support ensures future-proofing on high-speed networks. |
| Apple Intelligence | Not supported — lacks necessary internal hardware prerequisites. |
| Connectivity | Lightning port (USB 2.0) limits modern data transfer speeds. Modern features like MagSafe are present. |
| iOS Support | Supports iOS 18.x with current features and security updates; it is safe for several more OS releases. |
| Used Market Value | Strong entry point for users wanting a lightweight modern iPhone with an OLED screen and 5G support on a budget; verify screen condition and battery health. |
Price Detector: this page automatically shows pricing in your local currency (USD base) based on your visitor location. Where a price was never officially disclosed, it is marked Discontinued rather than estimated.
Core specifications are based primarily on Apple's official technical specifications; benchmark figures and other third-party measurements (battery mAh, AnTuTu scores, etc.) are compiled separately from tested units. This is a historical/legacy device; current retail availability may vary.
Core specifications are based primarily on Apple's official technical specifications; benchmark figures and other third-party measurements (battery mAh, AnTuTu scores, etc.) are compiled separately from tested units. This is a historical/legacy device; current retail availability may vary.